Just Picked up a VE 8-12x....

[Guest]

Huh, I SWORE is saw a site that had orthophonic gaskets for sale, but now I can't find them-does anyone have a source for ortho gaskets?

[leadlike]

The victrola repair services link earlier in the thread has gaskets.

My parts are slowly arriving. It seems that I could only ever find one part from a single source, so I had to spend a fortune in shipping fees to get everything I needed. In reading some past posts and consulting with other phono collectors, I opted to order some Neoprene sheeting from McMaster-Carr and make my own gaskets. I have yet to find a source for a flange for Orthophonic reproducers, so I will cast my own from silicone.

I have the weekend off, so I'll be looking forward to finally making a little progress on this machine...

[leadlike]

Just spent the day working on the mechanics of this machine, and I believe it is almost ready!

Removing the arm, I was surprised to find a rubber gasket coupling the arm to the plumbing for the horn. The gasket was still supple, so I just greased the joints and reinstalled it. At some point, the stop on the tonearm had fallen out, this is the peg that stops the arm from swiveling too far when you lift reproducer to swing it back. Luckily, that little piece was inside the needle disposal cup when I cleaned it out, along with the decorative washers that are used on the screws that hold the motorboard down. When I pulled the motorboard, I found a small white envelope, with nothing in it-I guess that may have been for needles at some point. I also found a lot of tiny ball bearings. Evidently, whoever lost the bearings on the soundbox must have opened it up right over the machine. I gave the motor a good degreasing/regreasing, as well as all the other moving parts of the machine. The pot metal plumbing had a small crack in it, so I applied gorilla glue along this thin crack, as it expands. It worked quite nicely, and this piece is airtight again.

The soundbox got new gaskets, cut from neoprene. Installing ball bearings was a chore, but once I got the hang of working with those tiny bearings, I was able to pack them in nicely. The old rubber tubing that was formerly jammed into the bearing races was trimmed into a tiny ring to act as a keeper for the bearings, and worked perfectly. At this point, I was able to rig the reproducer to the arm (still lacking a proper flange) and got to hear my rebuild on a few discs. I am very happy to report that the machine played with excellent volume and tone, with no buzzing or other issues that crept up at certain frequencies.

Now, I DID have some difficulties: in working on the flange, a piece of the reproducer's neck broke, making a mess. I crazy glued that piece back on. To apply as little stress as possible to the pot metal, I stripped the remaining rubber from the flange, spread a layer of silicone around the inside of the reproducer's neck, and centered the brass bushing into it at the proper angle. With a little bit of luck, I hope this will hold. We'll see what the morning brings once it dries.